BREAKING NEWS NFL's No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward gets paid by the Tennessee Titans with huge fully-guaranteed deal
The Tennessee Titans have signed No. 1 overall draft pick Cam Ward to his rookie contract.
The Titans announced Wednesday that Ward has signed his deal but did not share financial details. According to ESPN, it is worth $48.7million over four years and fully guaranteed.
That leaves only two of Tennessee's nine draft picks still unsigned ahead of the third phase of offseason, which starts Monday.
The 6-foot-2, 219-pound Ward played 57 games over five seasons starting at Incarnate Word in 2020, Washington State in 2022 and then his final year in college last season at Miami.
He finished with career 18,184 yards passing and set a Division I record with 158 touchdown passes.
Ward was an All-American and Heisman finalist after throwing for 4,313 yards and 39 touchdowns and leading the Hurricanes to their first 10-win season since 2017.
The Titans have made clear Ward will have to win the starting job over Will Levis, the 33rd overall pick in 2023.
They also have veteran backup quarterbacks Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle.
The Titans, 3-14 a year ago, revealed earlier this week that they would be splitting reps evenly between Ward and Levis, with head coach Brian Callahan noting that Ward had a lot of ground to cover this offseason.
'There's so much work to be done between now and (the start of the season), particularly for him,' Callahan said.
'I feel good about where he's at and the work we've put in.'
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RB It is rare for a player to win both regular season and NBA finals MVP in the same season; it's only happened 15 times in league history. But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the slinky, shifty guard with shades of Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant in his deep bag, is about to do it. While Oklahoma City have a deep team, and both Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have gotten shine this postseason, if they win it all, it will be on the back of Gilgeous-Alexander, and he'll get rewarded accordingly. CDL Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He's been the steadiest closer in the playoffs, turning midrange mastery and calm isolation into winning basketball. If Oklahoma City wins the title, it will be because SGA took over in crunch time and made the leap from All-NBA to undeniable superstar. BAG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. He's been dominant all season, and his playoff level has yet to drop. In his two regular-season games against Indiana, he averaged 39 points (on 56% shooting), seven boards and eight assists against one turnover – total. Put simply: this is his year, and he won't be denied. AL Thunder in five. They've been utterly dominant all season. That's mostly been the case for the playoffs too, allowing for some Jokić magic in the second round. The Pacers have been a ton of fun to watch, have impressive depth and a rising star in Haliburton. But the Thunder are deeper, more talented and have the best player in the series – that's a recipe for a gentleman's sweep. RB Thunder in five. If the Pacers had drawn literally any other Western Conference foe, I would give them a better chance in this series. But unfortunately for Indiana, they drew, in my estimation, the far better version of themselves. Indiana is great at forcing turnovers: Oklahoma City do that better. Indiana take great care of the ball: OKC even moreso. The Thunder have the MVP, the better defense, the better bench. They have been the best team in the league at home this season, and they have home-court advantage in this series. While the Pacers' run to the finals has been impressive all the way, and I see them winning a game, I think the Thunder will make relatively quick work of them en route to a Larry O'Brien. CDL Pacers in seven. I picked the Thunder at the start of the playoffs (flex) and my inner Dean Oliver is still inclined to think their historically good metrics will see them through. But management wants someone to make the case for Indiana so here we go. The Pacers' blistering pace, surgical ball movement and deep rotation give them a real shot at disrupting Oklahoma City's rhythm. Haliburton's vision fuels an attractive, crowd-pleasing offense that doesn't rely on isolation or volume threes. If they can turn it into a track meet while taking care of the ball like they have all year, Indiana's chaos could outlast OKC's control. BAG Thunder in five. Again: they're loaded, high-energy, extremely well-coached and hungry as hell. Denver needed the world's best player to take OKC to seven games. While the Pacers have their virtues, and a bona fide go-to guy in Halliburton, they don't have enough to stop a team that seems like it has been on an inexorable march toward a championship since the season tipped off in October. For me, the question isn't if Thunder will win, but whether GM Sam Presti can keep this squad together long enough to make a dynastic run for the ages. AL
